There are two types of people in the world: those who plan and those who don’t.
And there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that those who plan are more successful than those who don’t.
Of course, just because you plan, doesn’t mean everything will go your way. Reality has a funny way of doing things that don’t align with our best laid plans.
If I'm honest, I will say that there are many times I struggle with the idea of getting older and dealing with the reality that there are, to paraphrase Steven Tyler, only so many more summers left in my life.
While there's, no doubt, much I have to be grateful for, I'm also flustered by the fact that there's still so much left to do.
And my view of myself doing those things varies - some days I think maybe I'm too old, other days, I'm not at all.
There’s a game that’s played on social media that is focused on one simple objective: Let me show you how awesome my life is.
It’s a game that’s been amplified as FaceBook and Instagram have become household names and as the Kardashians and Reality TV have gone mainstream.
While it’s not a game played by everyone, it’s played by enough folks to be noticeable. In fact, you’ve surely noticed it yourself across any or all of your favorite platforms - people living what can only be called their best life: beautiful vacations, exotic locales, incredible cars, flash clothes, and picture-perfect meals. In fact, they look like they’re living your best life.
Perceptions are everything.
If someone believes something to be true, it almost doesn’t matter what the data says. The most reasoned arguments and the most robust set of facts will pale in comparison to their beliefs, values and worldview.
And as a marketer or salesperson reaching out to current and potential customers, it certainly doesn’t matter what you think. It only matters what they think, how they perceive the facts.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” — Anne Lamott
It’s almost always a bad idea to try and make difficult decisions in the fog of war, unless we absolutely have to.
In the midst of the battle, we’re faced with a host of messages and signals coming at us, non-stop, seemingly at random. Sometimes, our senses are heightened and we’re fully attuned to our circumstances, allowing us to make sharp, intuitive decisions. But more often than not, we’re not. Or we aren’t for any extended period of time.
I was thinking about the Dotcom era of the late 90s and the euphoria that gripped the markets for those few years as stocks climbed to record breaking levels.
The news of the day was engaged in a fevered debate - were we in a new era, one where the old models had become hopelessly outdated? Or was this simply another fad, not unlike Dutch Tulips, a bubble that would burst in due course, once we all came to our senses?
When sportsmen are learning to find their feet again after a long injury, or when they’re struggling with their form and looking to get their performance back on track, the advice they’re given isn’t involved or complex. They’re not told to undergo elaborate programs that will restore their physical and/or psychological state back to their prior peak.
In my last post, I discussed the idea of competition and specifically, that it’s existence shouldnt act as a deterrence to us entering into a specific market. In many ways, it can act as a validating factor that should, frankly, encourage us to play in that space.
But the more pertinent question, at least the one I’ve been turning over in my mind, is whether that’s even the right focus.
Our natural reflex, when we’re evaluating a market, is to think of competition as being a negative factor. If there is a plethora of companies already operating in a given space, fighting it out for share, our immediate assumption is that this market is “taken” or that adding another player into the mix is a dumb idea.
This might be the case, but then again, it might not.
God doesn’t come from theology, but from inside our bellies - Russell Brand
The fact of the matter is that handbooks, while helpful, are not really needed. The guidance is useful, often thought provoking, and many times, confirming.
A while ago, I watched a Michael Smerconish interview of Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd fame). It was centered around his tour and the frequent political statements he made during his shows.
At one point, he asked Waters:
There’s a level of chaos involved in the Karachi experience - that is, living a normal, everyday life in the Pakistani city.
It’s the 11th most populated city in the world, one that’s been economically impacted by a number of factors (as has the country as a whole) over the last few decades.
I’ve got a bit of an issue with articles that proclaim that the golden age of something or the other is over. (I saw one recently proclaiming that the golden age of American dining was over.)
I get that stream of thought when it comes to specific brands or technologies. For example, I don’t think any of us would disagree that The Golden Age of the Walkman is pretty much done and dusted. Or that The Golden Age of Atari is essentially behind us.
You’ve probably seen some version of the cartoon.
Two characters in front of a complex flowchart or process map drawn on a whiteboard. The steps on the chart are numerous, many run in parallel, all interlinked and codependent in some way. There’s no clear path to the end until, a single process step with the miracle action we’ve been waiting for:
Every organization has that person. The one who raises issues, flags problems, talks about solutions and fixes to move the ball forward.
I’m not talking about the complainers - folks who have nothing better to do, and don’t have any real intent to solve the problem. I’m talking about those who want to get things done and are vocal about it. Very vocal, in fact. Sometimes, they’re in your face. Many times, they’re irritating. Many times, it feels like they’re too much.
I don’t subscribe to many email newsletters but one that I do like to read is from Rob Hatch and Chris Brogan of Owner Media Group. They always have great ideas and perspectives on doing business at a granular level - how to organize your thinking, how to position and market yourself and your products and so much more.
Rob recently sent an email about how we think about “ideas” in business, specifically referring to Chris’ book, Trust Agents, published ten years ago. He talked about how he still found the ideas discussed to be relevant. Still as applicable today as it was a decade ago.
Expectations management is everything in business.
If you’re going to do something, do it. If you have no intention of doing it, don’t say you will. That’s pretty clear cut and I think we’ll all agree with that.
The problem arises when we get comfortable in the grey areas, at the edges of “well, this isn’t really a big deal”. We brush off - consciously or otherwise - these little things.
Free Soloing is a form of climbing that’s done without any sort of protection - no ropes, no harnesses, no climbing gear. Nothing but a good pair of climbing shoes, chalk to keep your hands dry and your technique and wits. It’s been around for decades but came back into the spotlight in the excellent documentary, Free Solo, which profiled Aex Honnold and his free ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite, a truly spectacular and breathtaking achievement.
In my last post, I talked about the importance of simplicity and authenticity in our messaging. Complex, obtuse and, worse, overly clever messaging does a disservice to the point we’re trying to make. And most of the time, it detracts from getting that point across.
Sometimes, though, this just seems impossible. We struggle with distilling the key takeaways or the so-whats. What keeps emerging is far longer and more involved than what feels right.
When it comes to communication, authenticity and simplicity are the two most important ingredients.
Whatever you’re trying to do - convince someone to buy something, change how they behave or join your team - it always pays to get straight to the point and be real about why your message is so important.
